Navigating the Twilight Shift: Managing Wildlife Hazards on the Road

As advanced motorists, we train ourselves to anticipate human hazards—pedestrians at junctions, emerging vehicles, or distracted drivers. However, one of the most unpredictable risks on UK roads comes from wildlife. There is a strong biological reason why your chances of encountering animals spike dramatically during the early morning and late evening.

Understanding Crepuscular Behaviour

While we tend to categorise animals as either active by day (diurnal) or night (nocturnal), many of the UK's largest wildlife species, particularly deer, are crepuscular. This means they are naturally most active during twilight—the transition periods of dawn and dusk.

During these shoulder hours, cooler temperatures create comfortable conditions for foraging, and the dim light offers natural camouflage from predators. Consequently, animals routinely move between their bedding areas and feeding grounds during these precise windows.

The Conflict with Commuter Traffic

The primary danger arises because these peak wildlife activity times overlap directly with our morning and evening rush hours.

Furthermore, roadside verges often attract animals. Rainwater runoff from the tarmac keeps the grass greener and more succulent than deeper woodland forage, drawing hungry animals right to the edge of the carriageway.

When you introduce headlights into this mix, the risk intensifies. Many animals possess a reflective layer behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum, which amplifies low light to aid their vision. A sudden blast of full-beam headlights can temporarily blind them, causing them to freeze directly in your path rather than flee.

Practical Defensive Driving Strategies

Applying the principles of good observation and anticipation allows you to mitigate these risks effectively:

Look for eye shine: Keep your scanning wide, checking the verges for the distinct reflective glimmer of animal eyes capturing your headlights.

Remember the "plus one" rule: Deer rarely travel alone. If you see one animal cross the road ahead, immediately assume there is a second or third following close behind. Slow down and wait.

Brake, don't swerve: If a collision is imminent, the safest course of action is to brake firmly in a straight line while maintaining control of your steering. Swerving at speed into oncoming traffic or a roadside tree frequently results in a far more severe incident than striking the animal.

By understanding the natural routines of rural wildlife and adjusting your speed to match the limit of your vision, you can ensure that a twilight drive remains safe and controlled.

Blue Lights and Red Lights: What is the Correct Call?

We have all experienced that sudden spike in adrenaline: you are sitting stationary at a red traffic light, sandwiched in by other cars, when a police car appears in your rear-view mirror with its blue lights flashing and sirens wailing. The sirens change tone, clearly indicating that the officer wants to get through.

This scenario frequently sparks debate among motorists—and even among experienced observers. Should you cross the solid white stop line into the red-lit junction to clear a path, or should you stay put?

The Emergency Driver’s View: What Should They Do?

According to Roadcraft: The Police Driver’s Handbook, emergency vehicle operators are trained to manage the psychological pressure their presence creates. When an emergency driver encounters a closed junction or a queue where motorists have no legal or safe options to move aside, the standard procedure is to de-escalate.

Best practice dictates that the police driver should drop back, turn off the sirens (and sometimes the blue lights), and wait for the traffic lights to change naturally. Emergency training dictates that arriving at an incident must never be bought at the cost of causing a fresh collision. Pushing untrained drivers into a live, red-lit junction straddling lanes compromises everyone's safety.

The Motorist’s View: What Must You Do?

The statutory reality for civilian drivers is absolute. Rule 219 of the Highway Code states that you should take appropriate action to let emergency vehicles pass, but explicitly adds that you must do so while complying with all traffic signs.

Ordinary motorists do not possess a statutory exemption to contravene a red traffic light, cross a solid white stop line, or enter a bus lane to clear a path. Doing so is a strict liability offence. If the junction is equipped with an automated enforcement camera, it will trigger, and the courts rarely waive the resulting Fixed Penalty Notice just because you were giving way to a siren.

The only exception to this rule is if a police officer in uniform explicitly and physically signals you forward across the line. A siren or a vague hand gesture from behind a police windscreen does not legally override the red light.

The Advanced Driving Takeaway

As advanced drivers, our priority is always safety and legality over courtesy. If you find yourself in this tight spot during a drive, the correct course of action is to stay calm, keep your vehicle secured, and remain behind the stop line. The emergency driver will adapt their strategy and wait for the lights to turn green.

In summary:

*** Sources: The Highway Code (Rule 219), Roadcraft: The Police Driver’s Handbook.

Group Social Evening​, 12th May 2026 – a great success

Over 40 members and guests turned out for last month’s social evening at Woodgreen Evangelical​ Church, and by all accounts it was one of the better attended events the group has put on. The light​ buffet went down well, there was plenty of time to chat, and the evening had a relaxed, sociable feel that​ made a nice change from our usual format.

The evening opened with the presentation of certificates by our Area Service Delivery Manager, Dave Cox to members who have recently​ passed their​ advanced test. 

Tom Humpage (left) with John Staveley, his Observer (right)

Chris Cutting (centre) with his Observer Huw Roberts(left)

Barnaby Humpage, presented by Dave Cox

Paul Darby (centre) with his Observer John Staveley (left)

Many congratulations to all of them — qualifying as an​ advanced driver takes real commitment, and it was good to mark that achievement in front of the group.​ 

We were also pleased to welcome two IAM RoadSmart Area Service Delivery Managers on the night,​ Dave Cox and Scott Evans. 

Scott gave a short presentation on current IAM RoadSmart initiatives and​ spoke about the value of local groups like ours in delivering on ​ AM RoadSmart’s wider aims — a useful​ reminder of how the work we do locally fits into the bigger picture.

No social evening would be complete without the quiz, and Andrew Burnett’s “not too serious” team quiz​ lived up to its billing — competitive enough to be fun, with no shortage of debate over a few of the​ answers. The winning team went home with model Minis as their prize, which seemed to go down rather​ well.

Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Our thanks go to everyone who helped with the​ organisation, especially with the buffet and quiz and to all who pitched in on the evening or simply turned​ up and joined in. If this is the kind of format members would like to see more of, do let ​us know.